Snowy Owl.
I might say this has been my favorite shot of this male so far.
We went back yesterday but had no shot at all.
At the beginning it flew right towards the car, great opportunity for BIF but unfortunately I was
still in it with the 500+1.4x that is hard to swing through the window opening.
Thanks for looking.
Canon 500 f4.0 L IS + 1.4x
Manual Exposure
ISO 200
f08.
1/4000 s
Hand Held
Last edited by Peter Kes; 01-05-2013 at 03:50 PM.
Dream image Karl..Love the raised foot, look back pose and inclusion of habitat. Wonderful exposure and details.
Hi Karl,
Beautiful shot! The lighting and pose are ideal. Minor issues: in my opinion there's too much room on the left and whatever processing you've done on the background has turned the two small branches visible into water colour paintings. I find the one on the left very distracting.
I've been after a snowy shot like this all winter without luck (and there's roughly 20 of them within easy driving). I'm very envious!
Cheers,
Harry C
Super image—Lighting and pose are lovely—especially that little hook of a talon with a highlight on it. Love it as presented, only nit, I would take a tiny bit off the top
Karl,
Nice exposure, detail. Really like the pose and the subdued colors. I agree with Harry about possibly cropping from the left (maybe adding to the right?).
Miguel
Excellent pose and interesting bird placement. It works for me. The bits of vegetation seem to balance it nicely. Exposure looks excellent too.
I envy you Karl, for having access to these awesome creatures! :)
Karl:
The bird is great, eyes really fine this time, talon as mentioned is striking.
If mine, would in fact trim from top a bit as mentioned, and would try a version cropped a bit in from the left as discussed.
Keep working them for us southerners who don't have this wonderful opportunity.
Cheers
Randy
Beautiful portrait, great details and eye contact., Karl.
Gorgeous. I'm really jealous of you guys that have Snowy's within reach. Light, pose and exposure are all terrific. I like the vegetation as posted. It would also make a lovely image with a little off the top and left, but after trying all the variables, I'd come back to this one, and print it.
I wish this was mine karl! I like seeing the talon on the left foot and the 2 plants being included. I only wish that there was some detail in some of the snow if possible.
It is VERY rare that I like a picture this much! This is my favorite picture of yours by far, and one of the best snowy owl pictures I've seen. Minimalist Japanese art is brought to mind, and I agree that the vegetation makes this one truly special. Personally, I wouldn't change a thing, wouldn't trim anything off the top. I prefer space, and you've got it! Very well done indeed.
Awesome Karl - one of the best I have seen of this species for quite a while.
Cheers Greg
Very nice Karl, and I agree, the vegetation works well with owl.
Nice contrast in the snow background and the comp is very nice.
Dan Kearl
Love it! This one breaks lots of "rules" but works great for me!
As noted above, the shiny talon is the icing on the cake.
If anything, I might actually like to see just a sliver more room on the left to give the leftmost vegetation a little more breathing room.
Beautiful looking owl Karl. Good low shooting angle. Almost appears the owl is walking, and I do enjoy seeing that one exposed talon.
I think Mr. Milicia nailed it in regards to needing to give the vegetation on the left side of the frame more breathing room. Either that,
or crop it out. I think you could present the whole image brighter with good effect. There is a large dust sensor spot to the upper
right of the bird's head. If you have a hard time seeing it, pull the image back into PS and make the whole image darker with the levels
slider and you will see it, then you can clone it out...Great image sir.
this is very nice Karl, excellent exposure.
PS. How come the snow is darker than the owl?
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Hi Karl, you seem to be nailing these Snowy sightings, and this one is no different.
Great Snowy shot and I love how he/she pops against the not so white snow BG. Perfect stare and the few twigs break it up nicely. Exposed very well. One of your best!
This is much better than the first image you post, nice to see you got back there for another chance at him.
Thanks, Arash. Interesting point you brought up.Originally Posted by arash_hazeghi
I would ask my wife many years ago when we started "hunting" for Snowys; how can you find the owls in the field.
She pointed out to me that the Owl always appears to be whiter than the snow, so she looks for a blob whiter than the snow while I drive on country roads.
This is one of the secrets of the trade.
Aside that point, I process the picture as two; the bird and the background.
Wonderful shot Karl.
Love the pose and light. Those two pieces of dry vegetation really bring a nice balance to the image, very well composed.
Very well done.
Thanks Mike. Good point you made. I moved the canvas to the left. It has more room for the dry plant and as much less on the right side.
Thank you shawn. I cleaned the spot and changed the composition as per Mike's and your advice.
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